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12052023Tue
Last updateFri, 01 Dec 2023 2pm

Rosedale Rec Society wrap up busy summer

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Those driving through the community of Rosedale may have noticed some upgrades and improvements at the corner of Highway 10 and Highway 10X as members of the Rosedale Rec Society have been busy taking on a number of projects over the last several months.
While work has wrapped up on these improvements, the society is looking towards other projects to further upgrade and modernize the Community Hall kitchen and bathrooms, and update the outdoor rink surface so it can be used as a year-round facility in the future.
“Our greatest asset and hope for the future are our volunteer board members and the great community-minded group of volunteers we have in Rosedale,” says Rosedale Rec Society President Rich Rovere.
A new executive board, made up of nine volunteer members, was elected to the non-profit society in September 2022, and quickly went to work looking at ways to make the community and its facilities better.
One major change, which honours the history of the Rosedale community, was the addition of the Rosedale Station sign and logo on the Rosedale Community Hall.
Society secretary Cate Samuel explains, in years past, mail delivered to the community was always labeled under Rosedale Station; the closure of the post office and subsequent change to community mail boxes has resulted in the loss of the Rosedale Station moniker, and the new executive wanted a way to keep the history of the Rosedale community in focus and alive.

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Volunteers also helped over the summer to paint the exterior of the Community Hall, campground and camp kitchen, and a full repair and repainting of the Big John Miner Memorial statue at the corner of the highways was also completed.
Ms. Samuel notes the society has applied for the Alberta government’s Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) grant to help support major upgrades to the interior of the community centre, and are awaiting further communication on whether they were successful later this month.
She shares that the society “flipped a lot of burgers in 30 degree weather,” and has a number of different fundraising events and campaigns, including a Christmas Market and bake sale on Saturday, November 25, and a Wilderness Adventure Raffle, which will be drawn in April 2024.
The society has also received funding from other community grants and donations such as the Walmart Community Grant for ongoing maintenance of the rink, and the Wintering Hills Wind Farm, which will help support making the rink usable year-round for various activities ranging from a potential pop-up market location or used for sports and leisure activities such as basketball.

Songbook hot off the press

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Music makes the season, and for 10 years the Mail continues a novel tradition of publishing a Christmas Songbook.
This year’s edition is bigger and better than ever with 40 pages, filled with all the songs to help celebrate the season.
The songbooks are a great addition to holiday gatherings with family and, friends and even at Christmas Concerts. They might even result in some spontaneous door-to-door carolling.
The 2023 edition of The Drumheller Mail’s Holiday Songbook is available at various locations throughout the region. Call 403-823-2580 to reserve your copies.

Neighbours pitch in to fight Homestead Coulee area fire

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Thanks to the help of neighbours, a fire south of Homestead Coulee could have been much worse than it was.
On the morning of Sunday, November 12, a fire broke out on the Gillespie family farm. Laurie tells the Mail they were unaware until the keen eye of a neighbour alerted them.
“I live in the river valley, so I don’t always see smoke. We were alerted that we were smoking down here by a neighbour who lives up top,” said Laurie. “I have a house that has a million windows, but none that looks at the silage pit where the fire was at.”
Their neighbour, Mark Coutts, texted the family asking them if they were alright. Laurie confirmed they were okay until Coutts said he saw smoke. They went outside and saw the silage pit on fire.
“There were lots of red flames around our silage pit. So we were unbelievably pleased. We could have sat in our house and not have known,” she said.
The Homestead Coulee Fire Department and the Hanna Fire Department responded and put out the fire.
“They were professional and so nice. We are always grateful to live in a small community,” she said.
She is also grateful for neighbours Daniel Branson and Andy Andrus, who brought heavy equipment to move bales and salvage their food for the coming season.
“Even the people who are not on the fire department, they came down too. That’s the thing about a small community, news travels fast,” she said.
It was one more reminder of some of the benefits of living in a small community.
“We are super grateful… being in the river valley down here, and all the grass and the cottonwood trees. It is a tinder-rich environment. We were also grateful there was no wind because we had that hellacious wind that night,” she said. “We could have burned the whole countryside down.”
“We got the best possible outcome that could be for something that was uncontrollable.”

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